Apparatus for storing and transportation of goods, particularly bulk goods, has to be robust enough to withstand the high impact stresses and adverse environmental conditions that it may encounter during normal operation.
Wooden pallets for storing and transporting goods are well known in the art and are defined by standards such as ISO Standard No. 6780. Such pallets are strictly defined in the standard, and other standards define the tests to which they must be subjected before being judged to be fit for use.
However, wooden pallets suffer from a number of disadvantages. They are susceptible to rotting, and woodworm, which means that their working life is relatively short, and they may endanger the goods carried on them. They are relatively easy to pierce with sharp objects, relatively heavy, and difficult to recycle.
The Applicant's co-pending United Kingdom Patent Application Numbers 0406272.5, 0414991.0, 0425943.8, 0505607.2 are incorporated herein by reference.
It is an object of at least one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention to overcome or ameliorate at least one of the deficiencies of the prior art, or at least to provide a suitable alternative thereto.